


Candy Hearts

by UmbraTsuki



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Denial of Feelings, Fluff, I love them though, M/M, Valentine's Day, there are other characters but they dont have significant roles i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 08:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13677732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbraTsuki/pseuds/UmbraTsuki
Summary: In their freshman year of high school, on Valentine’s day, Zack gave Cloud a candy heart with the letters “XOXO” printed on it. He laughed the entire time as he handed it over becauseof courseit was a joke, and he had to make that clear as day.Zack makes sure Valentine's day is special for his friends every single year. He has a kind of odd way of going about it.





	Candy Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bustersword](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bustersword/gifts).



> A little Valentine's Day gift for my boyfriend (bustersword). You're amazing, and I figured I should write something cute for once...

In their freshman year of high school, on Valentine’s day, Zack gave Cloud a candy heart with the letters “XOXO” printed on it. He laughed the entire time as he handed it over because _of course_ it was a joke, and he had to make that clear as day.

He’d given hearts to Aerith and Tifa too, as the four of them were all close friends. Tifa’s said “TOO COOL,” and Aerith’s had the words “ASK ME.” Admittedly, he had a bit of a crush on her. She was cute and sweet, and it was pretty hard not to want to be around the girl. So he thought being mysterious and cryptic might get her attention, right?

Didn't care about that with Cloud, though. He gave his best friend the candy heart when they were in-between classes, in the middle of the hallway.

When Cloud read what was printed on it, he rolled his eyes at Zack. It was typical of his friend to do stuff like this, so he joked right back. “You know,” Cloud had a smug smile on his face. “If you wanted hugs and kisses from me, all you had to do was ask.” He laughed, knowing that wasn't at all what Zack was asking for. A few students nearby laughed as well, some whispers audible from their direction.

“Ha!” Zack laughed along with them. “In your dreams!” He felt like his face might have warmed up a bit, probably out of embarrassment that other people were paying such close attention, so he immediately turned away and started heading to his next class. “See you later!”

It was _obviously_ a joke, he thought, considering that he was Zack Fair. Popular jock, well renowned flirt, and totally _not_ into his best friend. That would be impossible.

~

When sophomore year’s Valentine’s day came, Zack gave everyone candy hearts again. He was dating Aerith then, as of a few weeks prior. They’d gotten together after the group had an ice skating outing over winter break. But she wasn’t the jealous type and knew that he didn’t mean anything by the candy hearts in the first place, so she didn’t mind at all. It was all for fun, and he needed to keep up what he’d officially decided was now a tradition.

The hearts he gave Aerith were filled with messages like “I ♡ U” or “MY CUTIE.” He gave a heart to Tifa, too, which said “YOU SHINE.”

And Cloud. He had to shuffle through the hearts to make sure he found the perfect one, and he grinned when he did. A heart with the words “CLOUD NINE,” which he found especially hilarious, considering his name. Zack snickered the entire time as he handed the heart over, in the middle of the hallway like the previous year, while Cloud was standing at his locker

His best friend pretended to be shocked by staring at him with wide eyes and a dropped jaw, but he soon laughed and rolled his eyes again. “Are you trying to tell me something here?” He teased. “Cloud nine. Isn’t this something Aerith should know about?”

“Hey,” Zack protested, shaking his head despite the grin on his face. “Never gonna happen! Not in a million years.”

Saying that, he felt a sharp kind of _pain_ in his gut. He felt terrible saying such a thing, which was weird since he was just joking around. Clearing his throat, he quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, about today,” he put a smile back on his face, though it felt forced. That didn't suit him at all. “My mom said you’re welcome to come over like we planned! So I’ll see you then?”

They’d talked about doing a group outing with Aerith and Tifa, since neither Aerith nor Zack felt any particular need to keep the day to themselves, and Tifa and Cloud hadn’t had anything planned. They all figured a group movie day wouldn’t be a bad way to spend the time, so the boys had discussed getting together beforehand as well. They figured the girls would probably do the same anyway.

“Sounds good,” Cloud nodded, luckily not showing any reaction to the comment earlier. “See you then, Zack.”

~

Junior year was a bit different. He and Aerith had broken up not too long after that last Valentine’s day. She’d claimed that it didn’t exactly _feel_ right, not really specifying why. Zack agreed, although he didn’t voice this. He figured it was best not to.

He still wanted to give his friends the usual candy hearts, even so. But Tifa was out sick all day, and Zack only had one class with Aerith. He’d arrived late, however, and afterward, she’d rushed off, leaving him without any time to talk to her much at all. And that left Cloud. He found Cloud at lunch time (where Aerith was also nowhere to be seen), and the two sat at a table together with the ridiculous excuses for meals that the school provided.

“I almost forgot!” Zack exclaimed, realizing they didn’t have much time before their lunch ended. He really hadn’t forgotten, as it had been on his mind the entire time, but he didn’t want to make _that_ obvious. He pulled out his bag of candy hearts and searched through them a little bit. Found the perfect one almost right away. “Can’t have Valentine’s day without this, am I right?” He winked, handing the heart over.

Cloud laughed, then read what the message said. “SUN SHINE.” He almost spit out his food. “Really going this far, huh,” he raised an eyebrow at Zack. “Careful. My boyfriend might get jealous.”

“You don’t _have_ a boyfriend.” It was Zack’s turn to roll his eyes. His best friend had come out as gay just a few months before (which really surprised no one), but he definitely hadn’t said anything about a boyfriend. Absolutely nothing. Zack would know.

“Maybe I do,” Cloud replied, his tone nonchalant. He looked directly at Zack while he took another bite of his not-food, waiting for a response. And Zack looked terrified. For just a split second. He quickly regained his composure, reminding himself that of course Cloud was just _teasing_ him. Plus, even if he _did_ have a boyfriend, Zack needed to be happy for him. Not— whatever this was.

“Sure you do,” Zack replied sarcastically. “Anyway, I’m joking.” He grinned. “Clearly, you’re a cloud, not sunshine.”

“Funny,” Cloud shook his head, but he laughed. “You’re so dumb. I’ll see you later.” He waved at his friend as he stood up, turning away to head to his next class.

“See you then,” Zack stayed seated for the moment, a faint smile still on his face as he watched his friend. He’d found himself looking his direction _much_ more often than usual lately, and he _knew_ what it meant. But he didn’t accept it. For all everyone else knew, anyway, he was the same Zack he’d been the past few years. And keeping it that way would be simpler.

~

Senior year was the strangest by far. Tifa had graduated early, so by second semester, she wasn’t taking classes anymore. Aerith was busy with all sorts of school clubs and studying hard for entrance exams and the like, so she didn’t see as much of Cloud and Zack anymore. She always kept in touch, of course, and the four would still group text all the time, but it wasn’t the same.

Zack gave Cloud a few different hearts, this time. Three, in fact. The first one, he handed casually to his friend when he passed the blond in the hallway that morning. He didn’t wait for a reaction, just called out a “See you at lunch!” And went on his way. That heart had the words “LUV ME” on them, since he knew that would totally be funny.

When it came time for lunch, Cloud and Zack decided to go to the next-door burger joint instead of putting up with another day of shitty cafeteria food. They’d been doing that pretty frequently lately, so it was just a normal thing by this point. Cloud had gone to the bathroom, leaving Zack waiting with the food (which was really a poor decision considering how much Zack _loved_ french fries, but he managed to restrain himself for the sake of his best friend’s empty stomach). He set a candy heart on top of the box Cloud’s burger was in, a heart that read “MY TREAT,” and waited.

It didn’t take long for the other boy to return. “God, never use the bathrooms here, that was a terrible decision, and— _oh_.” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the candy heart sitting on his box. “Your treat, huh? So you’re paying today?” He pretended to be skeptical, but it wouldn’t be the first time Zack treated him to food.

So Zack just shrugged. “Why not?” 

He gave Cloud the third candy heart during their last period class together, when the student council was delivering some valentines they’d coerced certain students into paying for in some fundraiser. Zack caught his friend’s gaze during the middle of it and rolled his eyes, but he then paused and found the next candy heart he’d been planning to give the blond. “HEART THROB” was the message, and Zack made no comment on it. Class resumed at that time, and Cloud didn’t ask. He’d continue thinking that everything was a joke, and Zack would continue his state of denial about what he actually felt.

At least for now.

~

During their freshman year of college, Cloud and Zack decided to try the dorming experience and had a room together, figuring that being roommates with a best friend just made sense. Of course, it sounded like that didn’t go too well for some others, but it worked out just fine for the two of them. Tifa and Aerith had both enrolled in completely different schools, Aerith traveling abroad and Tifa moving to a smaller city. So it was just the two of them there, for the most part, and really, neither of them minded that too much.

Things ended up being awkward on Valentine’s day, however, since Cloud and Zack had gotten into a fight. Well, not a fight _exactly_ , but Zack knew Cloud was irritated with him. He had come back to the room late in the middle of the night before, tipsy and babbling nonsense. Interrupted Cloud’s sleep and everything. And that was after completely missing the messages the boy had sent when he was worrying about where his friend went. Zack couldn’t blame him for being pissed.

So he knew he needed to talk to him about everything. _Everything_.

He wasn’t able to get his mind off Cloud.

There was still that candy hearts tradition he’d started, and initially, Zack hadn't been planning to continue that any longer. It was just a silly high school thing anyway. But... he had an idea. So he came back to the dorm early, scribbled a note to leave on Cloud’s bed with a candy heart, and laid in his own (the top bunk) while he waited for his friend to get back from class.

And it got late. Zack lost track of time while waiting and browsing social media mindlessly, but by the time he heard the door begin to open and looked at the time on his phone, it was 9pm. He felt nervous as hell, so he pretended to be asleep. Cloud didn’t say anything.

But Zack heard his best friend sit down on his bed, and he heard the small chuckle when, presumably, he saw the note and candy.

The heart had, simply, “I LOVE YOU.” On the note, he wrote: _You know what I mean. It’s not a joke._

“And I know you’re awake,” came Cloud’s response. Zack never slept _that_ early, so it wasn’t too surprising.

“Yeah,” was Zack’s response. “Yeah, I am.” He had a lot to say, but the words stopped right on his tongue. He’d never been really great at these romance things— like, sure, he flirted a lot, but when it came to _serious_ conversations, he had no idea where to start. Or, in this case, how to continue.

“Took you a while,” Cloud commented. His voice was a little clearer this time, less muffled, and Zack figured he’d stood up from the bed to talk to him easier. “I mean... I had a feeling all these candies meant more than you claimed after, oh, say, the second time.”

Zack laughed, though it was more nervous than humored. “You’re right.” He would have shrugged if he weren't lying on his back. He stared at the ceiling. “You... I wouldn’t have known how to tell you.”

“Looks like you figured it out though,” Cloud’s voice was closer, and Zack saw the top of his blond spikes out of his peripheral vision. He was climbing up the bunk bed ladder.

“Eventually,” Zack agreed. “At the last minute, really.” He sighed. “Is that all you have to say?”

“Zack,” Cloud’s voice was _much_ closer then, and Zack finally turned to see the blond was leaning on his bed. Before he could even process this, Cloud briefly pressed his lips gently on his own.

Which, of course, completely stunned him. His lips were _so_ soft, and that was the _last_ thing he expected, and—

“Does that answer your question?” The voice interrupted his thoughts, and he realized he really needed to do something other than just lay there in shock. 

So he propped himself up on one arm, and with the other, he laced his fingers in the blond’s hair and pulled him closer for another kiss. Less brief, more urgent, like he’d been waiting for this. Maybe he had. He’d been stalling on these feelings for years, after all. Once he pulled away, he didn’t let go. “It does,” he said. He moved his hand to Cloud’s cheek, and the other leaned in to the touch.

“And it’s a good answer.”

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thank you to [climhazzard](http://archiveofourown.org/users/climhazzard/) for betareading this!! They have a really great ongoing Clack fic as well, so go check it out.
> 
> Happy Valentine's day to everyone!


End file.
